Living the vida local has been the rage these days. Whether driven by the economy or just a desire to reach out and get to know where your things come from, supporting the local little guy has taken a heightened importance.
This spring, though, I give you a challenge. Don't just go local. Grow local.
Instead of buying tomato plants from the Home Depot, shop your local garden shop, farmers market or gardens gift shop. Even better, get local seeds.
I know what you're thinking: This girl has too much time on her hands. But visit your winter farmers market, contact a seed exchange or find a local seed producer, and you might find some produce that's tried and true in your not-so-perfect soil.
It's not nearly as hard as you might think. A few weeks ago, I was able to find rainbow chard, cucumber and tomato seeds at our winter market. A friend of mine shipped up some herb seeds from her local botanical gardens. And I recently learned of a local company that's now selling heirloom tomato seeds that have been grown in our state for seven decades.
And the best part? This fall, save a few seeds back from your plants, and you'll have saved yourself the hunt next spring.
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3 comments:
Hmmm... the winter market. That's a possibility. There's also a greenhouse a small distance from home that will have tomato plants and more. If I buy my seeds there...
But here's the rub: my daughter works at Home Depot's garden center in the summer. By buying there, I support her. Oh, the decisions!
I have already bought my seeds for this year!! I will say tho that I hope to save the seeds from this year's crop & re-use for the following year. I have done this for the past 2 years with great success. This year's big purchase was because I am exploring more gardeining options for my area, encouraged by a book I read.!
Daisy, nothing says you can't support both. Buy what varieties you can't find at the market but enjoy the options from the locals!
Anon., I started seed saving last year, and at least in my limited experience it was easy. Trying for smaller, trickier ones next year!
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